CDC not overlooked in wake of anthrax scares

WASHINGTON -- In the yearly congressional balancing act of agency budgets and special projects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention often found itself overlooked and underfunded.

But with an Anthrax scare sweeping the nation and lawmakers awakening to CDC's critical role in combating it, Georgia's two senators say it's never been easier to secure money for the once unnoticed Atlanta facility.

Now, when Sens. Max Cleland and Zell Miller ask their colleagues for more CDC money, they tend to get it -- almost to the dime. All of a sudden, projects some lawmakers viewed as pork-barrel spending, benefitting only Georgia, are being considered nationally essential.

''It's on the frontburner big time because people realize the CDC is a national security agency now,'' Cleland said. ''It doesn't just track flu in Philadelphia or diseases in Africa. It now is going to help us prevent major loss of life, but it's got to be dramatically upgraded.''

Those upgrades are very much underway as Congress appears willing to open its checkbook to improve the center's viability at any cost. Although the immediate reason for that generosity is clearly the battle against bioterrorism, the long-term outlook for the entire agency has never been brighter.

Last week, a key Senate spending panel agreed to earmark $250 million to accelerate construction of CDC's future headquarters. President Bush had originally asked for $150 million, which would have finished the job in about 10 years. With the funding boost, it's expected to be completed in half that.

Although the entire Senate and House must approve the increase and President Bush must sign it, Georgia lawmakers say they aren't the least bit concerned.

''We would have had no chance of getting that before Sept. 11,'' Cleland said, referring to the day of terror on American soil that pushed the entire nation into a high state of alert.

Earlier this month, Miller had breakfast with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to talk about CDC. During such meetings, it's usually the lawmakers who beg the administration for money. But in this one, Miller said, Thompson asked what he could do to help.

''There's always been a small group in both the Senate and House, and also those in federal agencies, who understood how important the CDC is,'' Miller said. ''But I would say your average congressman did not. Now they do.''

Last week, CDC investigators were dispatched to Florida to investigate the discovery of Anthrax that killed two employees at a Palm Beach media building. They canvassed hospitals and health departments to search for others with similar symptoms.

When an employee at NBC News in New York tested positive for the disease Friday, the agency was back on the case.

If the current requests are all approved, CDC's budget for fiscal 2002 would be a record $4.4 billion. Some $182 million of that is earmarked specifically for bioterrorism readiness, and more is almost certain to follow.

''We would have kind of limped along, business as usual,'' Cleland said. ''Now four weeks later, we've got a record budget passed.''

With congressional interest in CDC at an all time high, Cleland and Miller are scrambling to secure even more funding boosts.

Last week, Miller joined several other ex-governors in proposing $5 million grants to states that can prove they're ready to handle bioterrorist attacks. The measure includes new funds to beef up CDC's national communications network and make it fully operational by the end of next year.

But trust in the CDC hasn't always been this high on Capitol Hill. Among other things, the agency has been criticized for redirecting funds Congress earmarked for studying chronic fatigue syndrome and hantavirus. Last year, the controversy prompted the hiring of a high-ranking government accountant to keep tabs on CDC spending.

But now, Miller is suggesting that perhaps the people at CDC ought to be given more choices over funding matters rather than fewer. They are best equipped to know how to spend money in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, he said.

''With the highly professional people down there, they need to have some of that kind of very strict oversight lifted somewhat,'' Miller said.

This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, October 15, 2001.